The invention generally pertains to vehicle fuel saving devices and more particularly to a fuel saving and pollution emission reduction system that functions by mixing ionized air with non-ionized air to produce an optimized fuel-air mixture.
For many people throughout the world the preferred type of personal transportation is a vehicle such as car or truck. Vehicles using internal combustion engines are also used for much of the world""s commercial transport needs. After the first internal combustion engines were invented, the development of the engines continued, which eventually led to the development of today""s modern engines.
During the late 1960""s and into the 1970""s many countries where automobiles were utilized in substantial numbers began to check on the amount of damage that was being caused as a result of burning fossil fuels in engines. Led by the United States, it was determined that due to large amount of toxic substances that were being expelled into the earth""s atmosphere from engine exhaust, a major problem existed. By the time of the tests many engines had developed to the point where they were using multi-cylinder, large displacement designs to provide higher power. Unfortunately, the higher power came at the cost of far greater exhaust emissions. The solution was to require vehicles to use catalytic converters and to regulate the amount of emissions that were allowed. While these solutions did help lower the amount of emissions, most vehicles also lost much of their efficiency, with higher miles per gallon (MPG) of gasoline rates and less power.
Many companies and individuals sought a solution to remedy the xe2x80x9cproblemsxe2x80x9d associated with maintaining lower emissions. Although some of the ideas did manage to provide a means by which a vehicle could operate with high gas mileage and good performance along with low emissions, most of the ideas were too expensive and/or complex to be adapted into general use by automakers. As time has progressed, there have been continued efforts to address this problem, which still could use an effective solution even though many vehicles now possess substantial power (and can be further improved by individuals who desire even more power).
The problem still exists that typical internal combustion engines use gasoline as fuel. Since gasoline is derived from a natural resource, the world""s supply is limited and eventually will run out. Also, the price of gasoline continues to rise. As a result, there is a substantial effort to develop engines that will provide greater mileage and allow the engines to go further on less fuel, thus conserving fuel and saving the consumer money.
One solution that offers potential utilizes ionized air that is mixed with the regular air within the engine. Internal combustion engines utilize a mixture of air and gasoline to produce an explosion (the combustion) which in turn causes the engine""s internal mechanism to operate. By using the mixture of ionized air with regular air, higher efficiency along with better mileage results.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention, however the following U.S. patents are considered related:
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,546 patent discloses a fuel economizer having a non-magnetic body surrounding a fuel feed pipe and fitted with internal magnets. The fuel economizer includes two half casings of non-magnetic material joined to each other by a clamp that keep them attached to the pipe through which the fuel runs. A magnetic field perpendicular to the pipe is generated by a first magnet and a second magnet. A third magnet has a perpendicular field with its poles inverted with respect to the first magnet. The magnets allow a magnetic flow to be concentrated toward the inside of the conduit to prevent exit of the flow towards the outside of the fuel economizer.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,274 patent discloses a carbonation enhancer having a cylindrical shell that is closed at one end by an involute wall spaced from the inner end of a withdrawal tube. The output stream of a conventional carburetor is directed tangentially into space between the shells and caused to move in a spiral path toward the involute closure wall by a spiral vane in the space. Upon reaching the involute wall, the stream moves radially into the inner end of the withdrawal tube and travels axially in a direction opposite that of the spiral path, with the stream exiting the tube to enter the inlet manifold of the engine. Waste engine heat is applied to the exterior of the cylindrical shell in an amount sufficient to vaporize liquid fuel droplets centrifuged against the stream as the latter traverses the spiral path portion of its travel from the carburetor to the intake manifold.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,105,010 patent discloses a fuel saving apparatus for controlling the supply of fuel to one or more selected cylinder of a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine. The apparatus comprises a remotely and independently controlled fuel saving valve operably positioned to provide selective communication between the cylinder clearance volume and a reservoir volume disposed externally thereof. The valve is closed for normal, full power engine operation, and is opened for predetermined low engine power demand periods. The opening of the valve reduces cylinder intake vacuum and resultant air-fuel influx as to render temporarily ineffective the cylinder, thereby reducing engine fuel consumption.
For background purposes and as indicative of the art to which the invention is related reference may be made to the remaining cited patents.
The fuel saving and pollution emission reduction system functions in combination with a vehicle having a gasoline or diesel powered internal combustion engine that is operated with a vehicle battery, a vehicle air-intake hose and a fuel injection throttle body or a carburetor air-intake structure.
In its basic design, the system is comprised of an air ionizer having a non-ionized air input port and an do ionized air output port. The input port is connected to the vehicle""s air-intake hose, and the output port is connected to the full-injection throttle body or the carburetor air-intake structure. The air ionizer is connected to and is controlled by an electronic ionizer control unit that is is applied power via a power cable that is connected to a vehicle 12-volt d-c power source. When the ionized air from the air ionizer is mixed with the non-ionized air entering through the air intake hose, an oxygen-enriched fuel-air mixture is produced that provides a fuel saving and reduces hydro-carbon vehicle exhaust emissions. The air ionizer can consist of a high-voltage corona discharge device or an ultraviolet lamp device.
The corona discharge device consists of a high-Q insulator such as glass, that is sandwiched between an outer metal screen and an inner metal screen. The two screens are respectfully attached to a secondary winding of a transformer that produces a voltage ranging from 4000 volts a-c to 7000 volts a-c. When air passes through the two energized screens the air becomes ionized
The ultraviolet lamp device operates with a lamp having a wavelength from 245 nm to 260 nm. The lamp has a pair of electrodes that are connected to an inverter that steps up the 12-volt d-c voltage to a 120-volt a-c voltage which is sufficient to illuminate the lamp. When air passes over the illuminated lamp the air is ionized.
In view of the above disclosure, the primary object of the invention is to produce an oxygen enriched fuel-air mixture. When the mixture is applied to an internal combustion engine a fuel saving and a reduction in pollution emission is achieved.
In addition to the primary object of the invention it is also an object of the invention to produce a system that:
is designed with high-reliability components to produce a system having a high mean-time-between failure (MTBF),
is easily installed and maintained,
can be used with both a carburetor engine or a fuel-injection engine,
is dimensioned to allow the system to be installed in a minimum space,
functions with either a gasoline or diesel internal combustion engine, and
is cost effective from both a manufacturer""s and consumer""s point of point.